Who The Hell Knew Google Reader Could Be Better?

Let’s face it! Google Reader was a pretty slick interface before they went and made any changes this week. I wasn’t expecting it (probably was mentioned on the reader blog RSS feed) but it is a welcome update.

I am a huge fan of clean looking interfaces. I supposed that is why I like OS X and some of the simpler applications out there. They have taken away some of the colouring that they had on the left side and replaced it with white backgrounds. The sections are separated with lines rather than a background colour difference which looks much nicer. My biggest pet peeve of the old version was the green background under the ‘add subscription’ button and now it’s gone.

Before:
<a href=”http://www.thesleepygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/old_google_reader.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-medium wp-image-272″ title=”Old Google Reader” src=”http://www.thesleepygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/old_google_reader-300×241.jpg” alt=”Old Google Reader” width=”300″ height=”241″ /></a>

After:
<a href=”http://www.thesleepygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/new_google_reader.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-medium wp-image-273″ title=”New Google Reader” src=”http://www.thesleepygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/new_google_reader-300×188.jpg” alt=”" width=”300″ height=”188″ /></a>

I have been using Google Reader for quite some time as my RSS reader. It’s a great way to read RSS feeds and I like the fact I can log in from anywhere with internets access to take a peak if I have time. It’s nice to know that Google is keeping an eye on their existing products and trying to find ways at making them better.

Some of the other cool features include the ability to collapse sections on the left side, the ability to turn off unread counts, updated friend sharing tools and they have added more bundles to their list.

I must say that I am happy with the graphical update and look forward to making use of the new features. If you don’t use Google Reader and are looking for a good web based RSS reader, give it a chance. You won’t be disappointed.

Come take a look at my main blog, TheSleepyGeek!